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I'm pretty sure that the tape is functional in the original novel, though.

It is, but the actual tape is damaged even before they can play it. Kouichi assumes this happened because they unwrapped it too hastily and part of the adhesive tape stuck to the tape. So the repair in the novel comes before that.
The anime probably did this to even the flow of events out and make for a tighter atmosphere.

Looking at the class seating arrangement, has anyone see a pattern, which could determine who could be the one to die next?

Spoiler for The long shot...:

Excluding HHHNNGGG Boy, draw lines connecting the students who were either killed or lost their relatives. It will form a cluster between Izumi and Kouichi (both of which are directly aligned to each other in a diagonal line).

Mochizuki (the art club kid) is siting in an all-girls row, but Mochizuki is (as far as I can tell) a boy. On top of that, he's sitting in what used to be Mei's seat

That's a nice find. I don't think it matters that he's sitting in an all-girls row (so was Takabayashi), but it's very interesting he took Mei's seat. It would have been more logical for Kouichi to take it.

They were in an old classroom that was in disrepair, all kinds of accidents could have happened there, but they didn't. There is absolutely no reason to believe that "finding out stuff about the incident" makes you die.

Since doing this will no longer spoiler anything.
I wanted to look up as to whether the Novel is already available in english or not I accidentally saw the end result (Wikipedia really needs spoiler tags, or at least the general information not that close to a mystery novel's solution....)

Well, don't worry no spoilers here for people having watched until EP 10....
So yes, you can use Knox Rules after all. (Anlyzing it afterwards is a lot easier though)
it also doesn't state whether anyone here was right or wrong, so everything stays open until you either get it or Mei reveals it.

Spoiler for Another KNOX Analysis:

1.)The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

We were only allowed to follow Kouichi's thoughts, he was ruled out by the fact that the calamity began before he even arrived. (EP 10)
All suspects were also introduced in the early parts of the story.

2.)All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
While it goes on the Another is out of flesh and blood, does not know about their death and is thus killable (EP 10). The Rule was far stretched though.
3.)Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
There were none.
4.)No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
While there is a certain poison that would show similar to heart attacks, it was not used here. (Said poison does also not count as undiscovered or hard to explain anymore as it is overused) (EP 1, where he tells Kouichi that he has a heart condition)

5.)No Chinaman must figure in the story.
While I don't like this Version of rule 5 (I think Ryukishi'07's version of it is a lot better as it explains what this rule is actually about)
Fullfilled.
6.)No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
Before we go on we have to finalize who the detective actually is.
While there are two candidates (Izumi and Kouichi), the detective is indeed Kouichi.(EP 3 + 10)
Regarding Mei's eye: While her eye might count as such, she is neither the detective nor does it have any significance, the case is solvable even without it.
Don't be lead astray for future novels though, the mere fact that you are allowed to mainly follow a person's thoughts is no guarantee that they are the detective. (example: Sleeping Murder)

7.)The detective must not himself commit the crime.
Fulfilled, as he wasn't there when the first death happened.(EP 10, EP7)

8.)The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
Tricky one, Ryukishi's version is again better for this. ('All clues must be presented'), but yes it has been fulfilled. Everything more would be a spoiler, and I have to admit that the clues are well hidden, if not concealed to the viewer until a certain point of the story, or where even dismissed for several reasons (Episodes containing hints:<redacted> (Example: The final evidence that Kouichi is not a candidate)

9.)The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
We do again have to clarify who the Watson is in Another.
While many would now suggest that it is Mei, logic already excludes her from that role, as she deliberately concealed all thoughts having passed through her mind, even already knowing who it is.
This is not a problem for the Knox rules btw, and that for several reasons:
She was a suspect herself for a good deal of the series, She is not the Detective/Watson, but a mere witness/suspect, and is thus even allowed to lie. (Ep 10)

10.)Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
While unimportant, fulfilled.
We were both duly prepared for the additional Person to exist as well as Mei having had a twin sister.(EP 1 - 10)

__________________

Those who forget about the past are condemned to repeat it - Santayana

Sidenote: I'm seemingly too dumb for my current keyboard, so if you see the same character twice in a row, when it doesn't belong there just ignore it.

Since doing this will no longer spoiler anything.
I wanted to look up as to whether the Novel is already available in english or not I accidentally saw the end result (Wikipedia really needs spoiler tags, or at least the general information not that close to a mystery novel's solution....)

Well, don't worry no spoilers here for people having watched until EP 10....
So yes, you can use Knox Rules after all. (Anlyzing it afterwards is a lot easier though)
it also doesn't state whether anyone here was right or wrong, so everything stays open until you either get it or Mei reveals it.

Spoiler for Another KNOX Analysis:

1.)The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

We were only allowed to follow Kouichi's thoughts, he was ruled out by the fact that the calamity began before he even arrived. (EP 10)
All suspects were also introduced in the early parts of the story.

2.)All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
While it goes on the Another is out of flesh and blood, does not know about their death and is thus killable (EP 10). The Rule was far stretched though.
3.)Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
There were none.
4.)No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
While there is a certain poison that would show similar to heart attacks, it was not used here. (Said poison does also not count as undiscovered or hard to explain anymore as it is overused) (EP 1, where he tells Kouichi that he has a heart condition)

5.)No Chinaman must figure in the story.
While I don't like this Version of rule 5 (I think Ryukishi'07's version of it is a lot better as it explains what this rule is actually about)
Fullfilled.
6.)No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
Before we go on we have to finalize who the detective actually is.
While there are two candidates (Izumi and Kouichi), the detective is indeed Kouichi.(EP 3 + 10)
Regarding Mei's eye: While her eye might count as such, she is neither the detective nor does it have any significance, the case is solvable even without it.
Don't be lead astray for future novels though, the mere fact that you are allowed to mainly follow a person's thoughts is no guarantee that they are the detective. (example: Sleeping Murder)

7.)The detective must not himself commit the crime.
Fulfilled, as he wasn't there when the first death happened.(EP 10, EP7)

8.)The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.
Tricky one, Ryukishi's version is again better for this. ('All clues must be presented'), but yes it has been fulfilled. Everything more would be a spoiler, and I have to admit that the clues are well hidden, if not concealed to the viewer until a certain point of the story, or where even dismissed for several reasons (Episodes containing hints:<redacted> (Example: The final evidence that Kouichi is not a candidate)

9.)The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
We do again have to clarify who the Watson is in Another.
While many would now suggest that it is Mei, logic already excludes her from that role, as she deliberately concealed all thoughts having passed through her mind, even already knowing who it is.
This is not a problem for the Knox rules btw, and that for several reasons:
She was a suspect herself for a good deal of the series, She is not the Detective/Watson, but a mere witness/suspect, and is thus even allowed to lie. (Ep 10)

10.)Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
While unimportant, fulfilled.
We were both duly prepared for the additional Person to exist as well as Mei having had a twin sister.(EP 1 - 10)

Since you have already looked at the conclusion of the story could you state one thing for me.

From episode 1 to 10 can you figure out the extra given the information so far?

I'd like to step in on that, but only because the important part, that is Misaki's desk, was only discussed very briefly during the time of episode 5-7 where it actually went into what is happening. I will explain this in spoilers (though it really isn't one) so people can keep guessing about it or find it out on their own, but it doesn't matter whether there are 18 students assigened to a 3-3 or 38. This all comes down to a technicality in timing and how schools are orgaized.

Spoiler for How are they a desk short:

The problem is not any fixed number of students in class (though anime in general seems to prefer to have students at a neat number like 20 or 30) but the fact that a desk is missing and an additional desk has to be provided for the "inexistent one". This additional desk is taken from the old school building, which is why it looks so damaged and old.
The size of a class is determined before the year actually starts so the janitor or students will provide the appropriate number of chairs and desks to each classroom before even the entrance ceremony starts. The "one person more" only seems to join from the ceremony onwards, so they go to class and notice "damn, we're a desk short".

Thanks for clearing that up for us. I was secretly hoping you'd show up yesterday

So my theory that Mikami-sensei is the extra person still works. I'll repost it here:

Quote:

Another was already present in class before Kouichi transfered in, so they should have already been one desk short at the beginning of the year as usual. And yet they weren't, and in the process were fooled into thinking this would be a safe year. What could this mean? That the extra person is not a student, but a teacher. That leaves us with Chibiki and Mikami as suspects. Depending on whether Mei included Chibiki in her answer even though he had already left, he could be ruled out (that also rules Reiko out...). I think it's more likely to be Mikami, who was the homeroom teacher two years ago.

My understanding is that Kouichi was only added to the class roster after the beginning of the year. If his transfer had been decided back in March, then why wait until May to come to Yomiyama? It would have been far more convenient to start the school year there in April. So, assuming he wasn't on the class roster and no desk was prepared for him, then that means that at the beginning of the year, there were 29 students and 29 desks in the class. Everybody had a desk, so they thought they were safe this year. They only started freaking out after they were informed of Kouichi's transfer and realized they would missing a desk then, but that's completely irrelevant if Kouichi wasn't part of the class when they decided on the number of desks.

However, we know now thanks to Mei that the calamity started in April before Kouichi transfered, which means the extra person was already present at the beginning of the year. The problem is that going by what we know about the way the phenomenon works, then they should have been one desk short, since if one of the student is dead, then there shouldn't have been a desk prepared for him.

There are only two ways to explain this inconsistency: a desk had been prepared for Kouichi back in March and the extra student stole it (as I stated earlier, I don't believe that's the case), or the extra person is not a student but a teacher. If I can confirm with certainty that Kouichi's transfer was only decided in April, then my speculation is as good as correct. If the opposite is true and it had been decided he would transfer long beforehand, then it's wrong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Can we have further clarification about how names are erased from past records? Because, as I understand it, all historical traces of the Other are removed when the phenomenon is in effect, to prevent its identification during the year.

So, like totoum pointed out:

If Ms Mikami were the Other, then, by right, people shouldn't remember that she was the assistant teacher of the Class of 96, since she would have presumably died that year and has now returned.

As somebody else pointed out, Mikami is a teacher. That makes a big difference. The reason students are erased is because it creates a discrepancy: the same student can't have been in ninth grade in both 1993 and 1996.

Obviously, that doesn't apply to teachers. Mikami doesn't need to be erased from the 1996 records, since her being the homeroom teacher in 1996 and then assistant homeroom teacher in 1998 is not peculiar at all. All the phenomenon needs to do is erase her death and not her whole existence that year, so that makes its job a lot easier.

mmm, thinking on who the extra could be at least I thought what could be the worst case scenario for kouichi

Spoiler for speculations:

after the escalation of the next episode Mei tells Kouichi that Izumi is the Another. Facing Izumi, she (Izumi) tell Kouichi that Mei is making up just because she(Izumi) blamed her for starting the curse earlier in the dining room. So what should kouichi do? Kill Izumi? Whom does he believe? We all know that Kouichi is the fist mei fanboy, but even knowing that the eye-that-can-see-the-death it is not so easy to buy.

__________________

The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.

Okay, here's my crazy theory on how the end will play out based on what we know as of episode 10 with only two more to go. Note that this is 100% PURE SPECULATION as I have managed to stay completely spoiler free for this series and intend to keep it that way for the remaining two weeks. I'll spoilerize it anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Spoiler for SPECULATION:

After a series of gruesome events and a high body count due both to the calamity as well as people going crazy looking for the Another, Akazawa is revealed to be it (explaining why hers and Kouichi's memories of meeting before have been erased - he knew she was dead. Hey, they have to pay that off somehow, yes?). Eventually, she dies somehow (possibly she takes her own "life" to protect her classmates after discovering the truth) and the calamity is averted for the rest of the school year.

Except, there is one final victim - Kouichi, who dies (due to events already in motion, like, say, his lung illness or whatever - hey, they have to pay that off somehow, yes?) after accomplishing some important task or plot point. His friends mourn him, very sad.

Flash forward to present day (hey, they have to pay off the "1998" thing somehow, yes?) and we're introduced to this year's new class 9-3. We see images and possibly are told the names of a select few of the students, ending with... Kouichi Sakakibara. Dun dun dunnn.... End.

And if I'm wrong about the identity of the Another, then it really could be anyone. That is, anyone except Kouichi or Mei - if it turns out it's either of those two after all, then that will have been the biggest cheat ever.

(Attention book/manga/wikipedia readers: Please do not comment. I do not want to know if my theory is close, right on the money, or way off.)

Since you have already looked at the conclusion of the story could you state one thing for me.

From episode 1 to 10 can you figure out the extra given the information so far?

i didn't really look at it, there was no other choice then seing it, as it was written at the same height where the the publishers would stand, just on the left side

But yes you can get it. The important hint you need is given to you pretty early and episode 10 lights on it again. You can btw open the spoiler tag as soon as you've watched EP 10, its not telling who it is. It doesn't even say in what episodes the hints forr identifying the Additional person are hidden.
The tag mainly features the 10 Knox rules as well as some clarifications openly made in EP 10.

Once the Blue Ray is out, you should probably be able to definitely solve it before EP 10, if they raise the overall video quality, that is.
You can, as of now, also get it, doing so really is speculating though, as you can't use the evidence.

__________________

Those who forget about the past are condemned to repeat it - Santayana

Sidenote: I'm seemingly too dumb for my current keyboard, so if you see the same character twice in a row, when it doesn't belong there just ignore it.